NEW YORK—As the economy continued its gradual recovery last year,
the U.S. optical retailing sector also exhibited slow but steady growth
in 2012, fueled in part by the performance of the country’s 50 largest
eyewear/eyecare retailers.

The Vision Council’s VisionWatch report dated December 2012
indicates a 5.8 percent increase in vision care products and services
sold at U.S. optical retail locations in the U.S. from $28,624 million
in 2011 to $30,287 million in 2012.

Leading those sales were the county’s top 50 retailers, responsible
for an aggregate $8,064.9 million portion (26.6 percent) of that total.
With many of the Top U.S. optical retailers adding locations and
reporting healthy sales increases for the calendar year 2012 and beyond,
this upward sales trend promises to continue.

These Top 50 eyewear/eyecare players operated an estimated 10,041
retail locations as of Dec. 31, 2012, with about half of those listed on
the VM Top 50 list adding new units and approximately two-thirds
reporting increased sales in 2012 as compared with 2011.
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